Chapter 197 – Rough First Step

“Fate is often fickle and those with poor understanding of karma are often pawns of it.” - Unknown

The day had finally come that Kurt and his team would be going off world. Well, most of his team and his self-appointed support squad. Still, it was a big moment in his career, and he waited mostly patiently in the Order’s transport hub. A place that looked an awful lot like a train station mixed with an airport terminal.

“Have you been off world before?” Kristi asked as she lounged on the bench next to Kurt. She was using their fake baggage as a footrest, the pillow stuffed duffle bags making great seats and cushions.

Kurt nodded. “Yup, I went to Verdant to visit my dad’s family many times when I was younger.”

“And he hasn’t been back in years.” Kurt’s father, Al, said. He was reading from his tablet and having a cup of tea at the table next to them. “Can’t blame him though. Verdant isn’t really that nice.”

“The elven home world?” Kristi asked. “Why wouldn’t it be nice? It’s called Verdant after all.”

“AH, I see.” Kurt laughed lightly. “Big misunderstanding in translation.”

“It isn’t actually called Verdant.” Al cut in again, setting down his tablet. “The name of the world is actually Verd ‘Ant. Two words, with a space in between. It roughly means ‘From where we originate’ but it’s often slurred into one word and leads to some confusion. Anyway, when the languages evolved over the eons, the name blended into Verdant and our race just went along with it.”

Val frowned. “I haven’t been there before either, but I always assumed it was a sort of garden world with houses made from living trees and such.” She sat up straighter from where she leaned against Kurt. She was between him and Kristi, opposite Rindi, who had taken up the rest of the bench.

The ensuing laughter from Al echoed in the mostly empty space of the terminal. “HHAahahaoooo. Not in the slightest.” He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye while Kurt’s mom, Beth, glared at him.

Seeing that his father was not fit to answer, Kurt picked up the explanation. “It’s actually a very developed world, technologically. Lots of cities that look like any major Earth city but… clean.”

“Well, cross that off the list.” Val scowled and summoned the illusion of a pen and paper while making a show of crossing out a line on the list of worlds written on it. The title of that list was ‘places I want to make sweet love to my spouse(s)’ but only Kurt and Kristi could see it.

“The parenthetical ‘S’ is a nice touch.” Kurt chuckled as Val let the illusion fade.

“Thanks! Gotta keep an open mind and stuff.” Val beamed. “We never know when you are going to fall dick first into ano-” She was cut off by a portal opening right in front of them.

Jay stepped through a moment later, followed by his assistant Kevin and Penny. “Good morning, Team Rosk.” He was looking rather chipper and gesturing wildly with the hand not holding an extremely large coffee cup.

“Hey, now that you mention it, we never did get around to figuring out team names.” Kurt realized they had done a lot of joint operations with the other teams under Jay but never adopted a consistent naming convention.

Frowning, Jay stopped in his tracks, looking like he had been interrupted mid-presentation. “That is a good point.” He then whirled around. “Kevin! Put together a focus group, or whatever humans call it, and hash out some call signs and names for the teams. We need a unified and consistent naming convention that we can build on.”

“Yes, boss.” Kevin stifled a sigh and scribbled in his note pad.

“Great.” Jay spun back around and faced Kurt. “Now, onto business.”

“You’re in fine form today.” Kurt observed.

The daemon grinned. “Exciting times will do that.”

Kristi, pointing at his slightly shaking hand, had her own theory. “And massive amounts of caffeine will do that.”

Jay looked at his trembling hand like it had just betrayed him. He summoned a small portal, roughly a foot in diameter and hovering horizontally at waist level. Unceremoniously, he dropped the cup in it and the portal vanished.

“Where did that go?” Val leaned forward, staring at the spot where the portal had been.

“A trash can in the entertainment district.” Jay shook his hand out. “Or at least where it was when I last checked when I got the coffee.”

Kurt could just imagine a coffee cup suddenly appearing and splashing onto the sidewalk or worse yet, onto someone. He then decided to avoid thinking about what would happen if someone had been in the middle of that portal when it opened. “So, are we ready?”

“Almost.” Jay looked at his watch, then to the board on the wall that had a bunch of times and places listed.

The board had long list that was constantly changing as the various information updated. Beside a number that corresponded to a gate, it listed a world and a city, presumably where a portal would be going. Beside that was a column that was titled ‘Direction’ and had a status of ‘incoming’ or ‘outgoing’. The last column labeled ‘Turn’ had a time counting down to when the ‘Direction’ would switch.

“We have another fifteen minutes until the switch. Then we can start going through.” Jay finished his thought.

“Great.” Kurt said and finished his own coffee. His boss wasn’t the only one to be in need of some extra help in the energy department. The hour was rather early, and they wanted to be first through this portal due to the time difference on Talth and the ‘layover’ they had.

Penny came over, standing next to Jay and looking to Kurt and Ra’s team, who were right behind Kurt’s “Remember you are going to have a slight layover in Hetat City on Ladaheim. Then you will catch a portal from there to New Jurrow on Talth.”

“And after that it’s a long walk or wagon ride to Libermount. Unless we find an alternate means of transport.” Kurt finished. “Thanks for reminding us, Penny.”

“I am just trying to do my job here.” She huffed.

Val popped to her feet. “And we appreciate it. Really, we do.” She patted their handler on the shoulder. “But there are only so many times you can tell us the plan, especially when two of us have elven memory traits.”

“Oh, right.” Penny deflated a little. “Just nervous.”

“We will be fine.” Kurt assured her.

“No, not about that.” Penny waved him off. “While you are gone, I will be working more directly with Jade. I have to be her go-between for the refugees and the Order.”

“Nice to know you care.” Kurt grumbled, getting a few laughs from the wolves behind him.

Jay, taking back over, got their attention with a snap of his fingers. “That brings me to my next point, marching order.” He looked over the group. “Ra will be taking his team first then you will follow after. Groups of four for this portal due to the restrictions on the inter-realm spatial tunnel.”

“Why only four?” Kurt asked, he didn’t remember that restriction when he went to Verdant.

“It’s a long way to Ladaheim so the bridge is narrow.” Jay began to pantomime, stretching something between his hands. “These aren’t like the realm bridges that are more naturally occurring. Your next trip will be a natural bridge, so you can go as a group then. These will have a slight time distortion as well. About two minutes.

“So, while you will only take a couple seconds to walk across, it will be different on the other side.” Jay finished and made sure the group was following along. “I want Ra going first in case there is trouble from the guild, not that I expect any. It’s just a precaution.”

“They gave your uncle a hard time recently. Was that because of you?” Beth asked, looking at Kurt.

Nodding, Kurt pointed to Jay. “He might tell you about it if you ask nicely.”

“That’s all you, Penny.” Jay passed that duty off as fast as he possibly could. “Anyway, back to this trip. Here, take this to Libertzal. It is from a mutual acquaintance, I think.”

Taking the envelope, Kurt stored it in his ring. “Ok, well. That’s it? No other instructions?”

“Umm… don’t kill anyone who doesn’t deserve it?” Jay suggested. “Really that is it. Do what you normally would, and we will back you up. Probably.”

They waited in silence for a moment before the gate they were waiting on finally changed, its countdown reaching 0. Kurt and the group all got to their feet and watched as the swirling blue-grey portal remained exactly the same. The arch around it, however, changed slightly as the red ‘X’ above it turned to a green arrow like a strange crosswalk sign.

Kurt and the girls said their final farewells to his parents, along with Penny and Jay as they approached the gate. The attendant moved aside from the entrance lane as they approached.

While his parents had stayed, Kurt noticed Jay had followed and watched as Ra’s pack began entering the portal. “Good luck, Kurt. You too girls.” He said in an uncharacteristically serious tone.

“Thanks Jay.” Kurt said and hoisted the empty duffle bag each of them was carrying as a cover for the implants.

He turned and stepped up to the portal, the girls beside him. The attendant motioned for them to step through and as one, they did.

“WA-” Jay’s yell was cut off as he crossed the event horizon.

*****

“WAIT!” Jay called out, but it was too late. “Fucking shit!” He swore in English before switching to a few more expressive sayings he picked up in Babylon when he had lived there.

He had barely caught it, but he had noticed the portal change. Its color had shifted from the blue-grey to a slightly lighter shade. That, along with the sudden change in energy, told him something had happened that wasn’t supposed to.

“What happened?” Penny ran over to him, reacting to his tirade.

“That mother fuc-”

“Jahamet, do not foul the air.” A pleasantly deep and disturbingly friendly voice rang out.

Both Jay and Penny turned to see the gate attendant rapidly backing away from what appeared to be two Buddhist monks. “You sons of bitches! What did you do? Where are my agents?” Jay stormed over to the newcomers who had apparently circumvented the portal’s directional safety measures.

“Peace, peace.” One of the monks said, his bald head gleaming under the overhead lighting. “If the benefactor will but wait for this struggling porter to explain, all will be revealed.”

“Uuuugh, not this shit again.” Jay pulled at his hair in frustrations and looked at the two monks.

While both of the people standing before him were clearly monks, they differed in their appearance. One was bald, looking to be in his mid-forties and wearing a set of rough spun yellow robes. He carried a long pole, like a walking stick and wore heavy leather sandals. The second monk was identical in facial features but had short stubble for hair and wore green robes. Rather than a staff and sandals, he was bare foot and holding a book.

“Which ones are you then?” Jay demanded. “Don’t make me guess.”

“I am Effort.” Answered the monk in the yellow clothes. “My associate is Understanding.”

“And the other six of you?” Jay looked around. He had dealt with these entities in the past and knew from experience they could be a lot of trouble.

“Ahh, Benefactor, you shame us with your insight.” Understanding bowed his head. “Please, let this eternal student share what I have learned.”

“Jay, I don’t like this.” Penny hissed. “What happened? Why are they calling you ‘benefactor’? Did you do something?”

Gesturing to the monks, Jay scowled. “Better listen to the Aspects of the Path. I have guesses, but they have answers.”

“Young miss.” Effort smiled at Penny in a very sage-like manner. “One does not need to consciously act to create a result that can benefit many.”

“Who am I benefitting this time? Is it you or someone else in your care?” Jay crossed his arms, ignoring as the security details around the area came flooding in at the unauthorized presence.

Understanding shifted his weight, drawing their attention. “Perhaps, it would be best to answer your first questions. Though they were spoken in discontent, they are valid in their own right.”

“Let’s hear it.” Jay waved his hand to the security detail who had rushed in, signaling for them to wait. He was glad they did but doubted it would have mattered if they tried to shoot the monks.

“What we have done is as always, an endeavor to balance karma, as you should appreciate.” Understanding watched patiently as Jay swallowed down his retort then continued. “We heard through various means that one who could fix an issue we have would be available to… waylay for a time. We have repurposed him to that end.”

“How did you know when he would be here to intercept?” Jay was very suspicious as a rule and his mind immediately jumped to another mole in the Order.

Effort reached into the pouch tied to his sash and pulled out a small stone that Jay immediately recognized. “Messages often are heard by many, some of whom were not the intended recipient. When this made its way to us, curiosity rose. Though brother Mindfulness urged caution, Wisdom convinced us of its value and thus these events came to be.”

“You intercepted my message?” Jay asked, incredulously. As far as he knew, nobody could interfere with his type of magic when he cast it.

Understanding shook his head. “No, no. It was not intercepted but brought to us by the one who received it. They did not want to be complicit in a potentially unfavorable event and sought our insight. We offered to handle the issue on their behalf and have borrowed these agents of change for a time.”

“Borrowed, how?” Jay skipped over the fact that Libertzal, of all the dragons he knew of, was seeking advice from a Buddha.

Understanding rocked his head side to side, like he was debating on how to answer. “It would seem that forthrightness would be the best for benefactor. One of the countries we watch over was lost to us, cut off from our wisdom and guidance. When we traveled there, we discovered why.

“This student sought to know more of this event, and I looked deeper. The nation had been diverted from its connection with heaven’s path as have those who sought enlightenment through its contemplation. The cycle of truths has been reset, and I have but seen the first.” Understanding adopted a morose expression. “Fell karma is being sown on that world, bringing about the need to swiftly swing the cycle to its apex, the midpoint.”

Jay, having learned much of the Buddhist belief system long ago, interpreted for Penny. “They lost a population of adherents, went to check on it, found out there was a problem and Kurt is the solution.”

“How is Kurt the solution?” Penny frowned.

Looking at the two monks, Jay made a logical guess. “Because the issues involve werewolves.” Seeing Understanding nod in an annoyingly sage-like fashion, he continued. “And because it affects them, he will find and fix the root of the problem out of vengeance.”

“As is the way of his kind.” Effort said. “Those who labor in darkness often see more truths than those in the light.”

“Right, balance and karma.” Jay dismissed the comments from the multifaceted, enlightened being who was ‘totally not a god’. “And how will you sever your karma with him? I doubt that you would like to be in his debt, you always preferred the reverse of that.”

Understanding smiled. “The opportunity one finds on their path can be its own reward, regardless of if the path is sometimes diverted by another to ensure the bounty is found. By the time their work is done, they will be well compensated and then set upon their paths again.” Then, both monks vanished, simultaneously taking a large step that stretched between where they were and the portal.

Seconds after the monks vanished, one of Ra’s people came through the portal. “Hey, umm, is Kurt coming?”

“No.” Jay said with a sigh while rubbing his temples. “No, they are not. Bring everyone back. We got a shit storm to deal with.”

*****

“I greet thee, patron’s”

Kurt froze in place. Not because he wanted to, or even because he was startled at the sudden appearance of another person in the tunnel that was supposed to be empty. It was because he literally stopped mid-stride like someone had hit a pause button on a remote control.

The monk that was standing before Kurt turned, speaking to someone he couldn’t see. “Please, Eskanta, allow our would-be benefactors some freedom.” The little bald man was wearing a brown outfit that looked halfway between a karate gi and robes. His hands and forearms stuck out from the short, wide sleeves and showed many scars across the tanned skin.

“Action, these two are known to me.” Replied a distinctly feminine voice that was notably absent of inflection.

“If you were to allow them some liberty, they might all be known to you.” The monk replied.

There was a moment of silence before the woman spoke. “Well reasoned. Granted.”

Kurt was once again able to move and barely managed to stay on his feet as he whirled around to face the two people. He felt the rest of his group doing the same and Kristi pressed up behind him to whisper in his ear.

“That is Eskanta. One of the gods who oversee Talth, specifically the legal system.” Kristi whispered, for some reason not using the implant. Kurt used the moment to look the goddess over, noting her impassive face, simple clothing and absolutely neutral demeanor. She looked like indifference incarnate, someone who had no opinions other than ‘the rules must be followed’.

“You have spoken truth, Kristanazal of Libermount.” Eskanata replied before her eyes looked over Kurt’s other shoulder to Rindi. “And you, convict. Though your shape has changed, the sentence remains. Attached to this one and… Hmm.” The goddess stopped.

“Ahh, you have seen that which Livelihood told you of.” The monk, apparently named Action, said. “This is an injustice which I think must be corrected.”

Before Kurt could react, the god was holding Rindi’s hand by the wrist, having moved faster than he could comprehend. “Hey! Yo-“

“Peace, benefactor.” Action held up a hand in a gesture to wait, and the words hit Kurt like they had physical weight and he suddenly felt like he was under a weighted blanket. “This is but confirmation.”

“Sentenced to ten years servitude for arson conviction. Reasonable.” Eskanta was looking at Rindi’s arm and somehow locking the tigress in place, unable to move.

“Sentence carried out by slave branding. Fitting.”

“Brand sold. Allowable.” Eskanta was reciting the lines like they were a check list.

“Brand transferred. Allowable.

“Brand transferred. Brand transferred. Brand transferred… Examining.” The goddess said. Her face still impassive. “Brand transferred, sentence restarted. Error.”

Kurt was beginning to get the feeling that this goddess was less a person, like Odin, and more of a program. He unfortunately couldn’t say anything as she continued her examination of Rindi.

“Investigating cause. Cause is race, convict is half breed. Race of convict falls outside set parameters for brand.” Eskanta’s already blank face somehow went even more inert. A moment later she had regained her senses and continued. “Term served, brand annulled.”

There was the sensation of a warm breeze on Kurt’s arm, the exact opposite of when he had received the marking showing Rindi was his slave. He wanted to ask questions but was interrupted as the goddess released Rindi and she dropped to the ground, panting.

“A mistake in terms of the sentence is due compensation.” Eskanata intoned as she stood over Rindi. “Local compensation is unsuitable, available materials lacking in value.” The god froze, her face blanking again for just a moment. “Compensation found. Take this and our apologies.”

Rindi had a small deep purple gem thrust into her hand as the goddess leaned over her. She looked up at the goddess, her face showing a mixture of relief, anxiety and anger. “That’s it?”

“You have been given a condensed form of your essence, harvested from the aether. Use it as a power source or for personal advancement. My work is completed, farewell.” The goddess of law and justice vanished without so much as a sound, taking a step and disappearing into nothingness.

The tutting sound that Action made seemed to echo in the now slightly less occupied tunnel between worlds. “As coarse as she may be, it is often for the best. Divine beings can be so prideful at times.”

“Aren’t you a-“ Kurt began to ask but the monk cut him off.

“We are but enlightened on the fundamental truths of the universe and are the path toward it.” Action smiled slightly as he intercepted the line of thought and deflected it. “Now, to my purpose for you.”

Kurt, feeling like the monk would be more amendable to discourse, objected immediately. “We already have a purpose and don’t need a new one… thank you.”

“Of course, you all have purposes, ones that I believe are very honorable, in fact.” Action cast his eyes over the group, examining each of them in turn before settling again on Kurt. “But this, involves the young master and his particular purpose.”

When nobody tried to interrupt, Action continued. “While there are many aspects to this issue we have, it is our belief that you are best suited to solving it. Wisdom has even convinced us that you will do best in handling this if we offer no opinion or guidance on the outcome.

“What I will tell you is that there are three main factors. That of your kin, that of your aspect and, that of origins.” Action smiled and stepped to the side, gesturing to the other end of the spatial tunnel. “With that, do not let this hesitant guardian keep you. Good fortune be upon you and one of us will see you at the end.”

Another monk suddenly stepped into the tunnel of compressed reality before anyone could make a move. This one wore orange robes and had a clear voice that seemed like it carried farther than it should have, given the volume he spoke at. “Take this.” He thrust a pamphlet at Kurt.  “I am told you favor this form of expression.”

Before Kurt could even think to say anything, to object to anything at all, he felt like someone had lifted the ground beneath him. He and the girls slid forward, like they were on some sort of moving sidewalk trapped in a tube. There was a flash of light, and then they found themselves standing in a large, rectangular pavilion.

He immediately took in the space and realized how exposed they were as they got their footing. He glanced left and right, looking for anything to tell him where they were.

“The fuck was that?” Kristi asked, picking Rindi up from where she had sprawled on the ground. She had to all but princess carry the woman into an upright position.

Being dumped into a strange place instantly spiked Kurt’s anxiety and he quickly ushered the group into an alcove beside a hallway leading off the main room. A room that was filled with portals, much like the one he had just come from but with a different aesthetic. “Don’t know but we definitely aren’t where we are supposed to be. Huddle up, we are getting our bearings and moving out. I don’t want to sit here incase it’s a trap.”